Improvement in car-couplings



UNITED STATES CHARLES CLINTON, OF BLOOMING GROVE, NEW YORK.

|MPROVEMENT IN CAR-COUPLINGS.

Specication forming part of Letters Patent No. 46,336, dated February 14, 1865.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES CLINTON, of Blooming Grove, in the county of Orange and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Oar-Coupling; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making apart of this specification, in which- Figure l is a horizontal section of my invention, taken in the line x ac, Fig. 2; Fig. 2, a side sectional view of the same, taken in the line y y, Fig. l.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the two gures.

This invention relates to a new and improved self-acting coupling, or such as conneet themselves when two cars come in contiet.

The invention consists in the employment or use of two jaws placed one over the other within a draw-head and hung upon journ tls, which are connected at one end by levers arranged in a novel way, in connection with a shackle or coupling-pin provided a-t each end with a head, by which means a coupling is obtained which will not only connect itself,.but one which may be readily disconnected whenever required without the necessity of the operator passing between the cars.

To enable those skilled in the art to fully understand and construct my invention, I will proceed to describe it.

A represents the draw-head of my improved coupling, which is formed of two longitudinal parts, a a, connected by bolts b. The front of the interior of the draw-head is of flaring form, as shown at c, and a shoulder, d, is within the draw-head, just back of its iiaring front c, as shown in both igures. In the back part of the interior of the drawhead there is placed an india rubber or other spring, B.

O is a socket, which may be of cylindrical form and provided with 'a stem, d, which passes through the spring B, and also through the back of the draw-head, and has a screw cut upon it, on which a nut, C', is fitted, the back of the socket bearing against the spring.

D D are twojaws, which are hung on jonrnals c, passing through the sides of the drawhead. These jaws may bedescribed as being of the shape of the longitudinal halt' ot' a hollow cone, and the journals e are at the ends of the jaws which are nearest the front end of the draw-head, and just back of the shoulders d, so that the ends of the jaws will be in contact with the shoulder, the latter serving as a irm bearing for the former. The jaws D D are placed one above the other, and to the outer end of one of the vjournals c of the upper jaw there is attached a lever, E. A jointed lever, F, is also attached to one of thejournals ot' the lower jaw D, the lever F being directly below the lever E. The lever F has its fulcrum at f, the joint g being between the fulcrum and the journal on which said lever is placed, as shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 2. The levers E F, near their outer ends, are connected by a link, G. By this arrangement of the levers the two jaws D D are made to move simultaneously toward and from eachother.

H represents the shackle or coupling-pin formed of a single rod having a head, h, at each end. When this pin is shoved into a draw-head, it forces the inner ends ot' the two jaws D D apart, the head h entering the socket C, and the spring B preventing any material jar or concussion; When the head h passes the inner ends of the jaws D D, the latter close, on account of the gravity of the levers E F, and retain the pin in the drawhead. When both ends of the pin are thus fitted in the draw-heads of two adjoining cars,the coupling of the same is effected. In order to release the pin and disconnect the cars, the levers E F are raised, as shown in red, and the two jaws D Dv consequently moved apart to admit of the head h passing out between the jaws.

The draw-heads may be constructed ot wrought or cast iron. The jaws D D may be of wrought-iron, and also the shackle or pin H. The socket C may be ot wrought or cast metal.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The two jaws D D, arranged within the with the shackle or pin H and jaws D D, all arranged substantially as and for thepurpose specified.

(lrawhezul A, substantially as shown, and opv ernted bythe gravitating levers E F, pivoted, respectively, to the upper journal e and at f and by a link to the otherjcurnal e the i said levers being shackled together bythe l CHARLES. CLINTON' link G, the whole arranged substamtialbY as Il VVituesses:

described and represented. M. M. LIViNGsTON,

2. The socket and spring B, in combination WM. F. MCNAMARA. 

